what percentage of cotton do you use for the quilts? i have been using 100% cotton. i had found some that was 35% and 65% poly. is this good for making quilts. or should i ask is it ok to mix 100% and mixed cottons to make quilts or placemats and runners?

Jeanette...I use a mixture for my quilt tops...... I don't always know what I have for sure as far as the percentage cuz I've had most of my fabrics given to me, but alot of times when I go to use it and it doesn't handle well, I chuck it! Thats when I figure out it must not have much cotton in it.... but it has to have some in it for me to use it on my regular quilting projects. otherwise it does not machine quilt well at all.

I do try to make sure my backings are all cotton tho...unless I am tying the quilt instead of machine quilting it.

I use whatever........only if it was a request would i use a certain fabric...and then they have to buy it........lots of mine is unknown content, I go by feel. Any one ever use 100 cotton home decorating fabric...... some is nice but will it fade? That bit of poly keeps the color :D

that being said, there are certain practices that will more often give better results than others. picking fabrics that work well together is one. i don't care how much or how little you pay for a fabric. if it doesn't work and play well with the others in your quilt, you are going to have a rough time putting it together.

i'm not among those who object to polyester. there are certain things i've noticed, though, whenever i work with it.
- needles wear out faster, and smaller sizes (11 or less) work better
- it doesn't always feed as smoothly under the presser foot
- it won't always be able to tolerate the highest iron settings like cotton can, so test it first
- i don't like to prewash. i'm too lazy. however, if i'm planning to use a combination of fabric types, i do prewash to make sure everything is preshrunk before i start sewing things to each other.
- i don't like to pre-press, either. also because i'm lazy. but i always get better results if i do. that's proven true even when all the fabrics are 100% cotton, but from different lines or manufacturers. ironically, it's the more expensive stuff that's more often temperamental. go figure.

when i bought all my fabric from the same place, i never encountered "issues". but now that i've started branching out and shopping online, too, my world is more uncertain. i'm trying to get into the habit of cutting test strips to wash, press, sew together, etc before i start the real work.